Topic: Research News

Scientists discovered that a landmass beneath the North Sea had forests thousands of years earlier than expected. This lost world, called Doggerland, could have been home to early humans and animals.

Doggerland was once a land bridge connecting Britain to mainland Europe. Scientists knew it eventually became forested, but they didn't know when or how suitable the environment was for early humans. A new study led by the University of Warwick has shed light on this lost world's history. Researchers analyzed sedimentary ancient DNA from 252 samples taken from marine cores along the prehistoric Southern River. This allowed them to reconstruct the ecological history of Doggerland from about 16,000 years ago until it disappeared beneath the sea.

The findings show that temperate woodland species like oak, elm, and hazel were present much earlier than suggested by pollen records from Britain. The team also detected DNA from Pterocarya, a tree genus thought to have vanished from the region around 400,000 years ago. This suggests the species survived in the region far longer than previously thought.

The study's lead author, Professor Robin Allaby, says:

Implications

Scientists discovered that a landmass beneath the North Sea had forests thousands of years earlier than expected. This lost world, called Doggerland, could have been home to early humans and animals.